New Egyptian cities have failed to achieve most of their intended goals. One of the reasons for this is the adoption of a Western or modern (low density) pattern that is perhaps unsustainable. This pattern has no reference to the traditional compact pattern established in the region over many years. Therefore, a hypothesis is introduced in this research on the possible contribution of the compaction approach for current and future sustainability of these cities. To test this hypothesis, the main target is to measure the veracity of urban compaction in the new city context by focusing attention on the low income neighbourhoods. To conduct this judgement, a sustainability framework is proposed using two main concepts: social and spatial quality. The methodology adopted in this research is primarily of a quantitative nature to measure the social and spatial aspects of different urban patterns. Different cases that can be ranked on a ladder of urban compaction have been employed. The data were collected using a number of different methods including a questionnaire, site survey and focus group, and the nature and extent of relationships were investigated through statistical analysis. This analysis is linked to identifying the degree of urban and social sustainability at each compact pattern, and thereby indicates the possible correlations between sustainability and compaction. The findings show that the contribution of compact urban form to sustainability is a result of the characteristics of density and mixed use. Generally, the worst implications gained from mixed use have more impact than those from its lack or absence. Moreover, density is usually perceived negatively only when coupled with a high extent of mixed use. Looking for mixed use and density implications under the same umbrella (compactness) is therefore significant. In this regard, three compact patterns resulted in the context of low income neighbourhoods: hard compact, soft compact and dispersed pattern. Soft compact is the most sustainable pattern and is highly recommended for any further development. Accordingly, this research provides a number of recommendations for the planning and design of the new Egyptian cities. Overall urban intensification is highly recommended for these cities through infill mixed use of the existing neighbourhoods or building the new development on a higher extent of compaction. Moreover, the research offers some guidelines for the design of low income neighbourhoods in terms of density and land-use profiles. It makes a contribution to the extensive body of theoretical, and to a lesser extent, empirical evidence by shedding light on the relationship between urban compaction and sustainability.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:bl.uk/oai:ethos.bl.uk:569444 |
| Date | January 2011 |
| Creators | Ibrahim, Abdelkhalek Abdelrahman |
| Publisher | University of Liverpool |
| Source Sets | Ethos UK |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Electronic Thesis or Dissertation |
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